The Avengers Twelve Days of Christmas
by Xana Vlec
Summary: Twelve days till Christmas. Thirteen oneshots depicting Christmas for the Avengers. Day 13: Sledding on a White Christmas
1. A Stark Christmas

All eyes were on Tony. Tony had told them all that he would give them their gifts after all the others were opened. Trust Tony to try and save "the best for last" or so he said. Tony had been talking about how great his gifts were for the past three weeks. By this time, all of them, whether they liked it or not, had thought about what the _billionaire_ planned to give them.

Bruce kind of hoped that Tony would finally replace the lab equipment that he had been struggling with for the past few months. Some of the parts of the MRI scanner had broken, and it was nearly unusable right now.

Steve, on the other hand, had no clue what Tony planned on giving him. Tony had pointed out an animatronic Captain America in a toy store a few days ago. Knowing the playboy, Steve kind of expected Tony to get him that toy for Christmas. It was just something that Tony was bound to do, and Steve wasn't really looking forward to it.

Natasha didn't care much for Christmas. It meant torturing oneself over gifts that no one would ever use. At least, she had never used the pile of Hawkeye action figures that Barton had gotten her. They were really irritating. Especially the new one he got her today that talked. She planned to burn it as soon as she was alone. She was kind of interested in Tony's gift though. Would he pull a prank or would he get something worthwhile like a remote controlled spy helicopter. SHIELD had some stored up in the Helicarrier, but it would be nice to not have to go through the red tape each and every time she needed one.

Clint, speak of the devil, was excited for what Tony was going to give. The hype over the past three weeks had been driving him mad. Tony had his hands in so many high tech ventures that he could really get his hands on anything that he wanted. Clint had no doubt that the gift would be awesome!

Thor wasn't sure what to think about Tony's "gift". They had not celebrated Christmas on Asgard. The entire gift giving process had been chaotic for him. He had been so used to just walking out and getting whatever he wanted. The thought of waiting for people to give him things had been absolutely horrifying. Tony had told Thor that it would be a good idea for him to get used to Stark Phones, but Thor had never taken him up on the advice. Did the Son of Iron plan on giving him one of those Stark Phones?

Tony grinned at his five friends. They had been together ever since the New York catastrophe, and he was glad that they decided to move into Stark Towers with him. It got lonely every once and awhile, and he liked it when there was noise around the building. "I'll be right back. Just wait for me, okay?" Tony got up from his plush chair and walked out of the living room. He hurried down the hallway and down to Thor's room.

Thor's room had been the perfect place to hide the gifts. It wasn't as if Thor knew how to use the electronic safes in the room, so he would never suspect that Tony had hidden something in there. Tony tapped the numbers 148191 into the safe, and the door popped open. Tony opened the large waist-high safe door and slipped the five gifts out. The gifts were small for the most part. They ranged from an envelope to a shoe box, but Tony thought they were the absolute perfect gifts for his friends.

Tony piled the presents up in his arms and kicked the safe shut. He exited Thor's room and gently closed the door before heading back to the living room. "Guess who is back!" Tony said in a sing song voice as he re-entered the room. He walked over to each of the Avengers and handed them the gifts with their names on it. "I hope you guys like them. I spent a lot of time on each of them, so even if you don't like them, just tell me that you do."

Natasha snorted. Typical Tony, acting like everything was a big deal even though it wasn't. Natasha took the rectangular box and put it on her lap. She pulled the tape off before meticulously unwrapping the box. If there was anything that Natasha hated, she hated destroying things unnecessarily. If she could unwrap the box without damaging the wrapping, she would do it.

She tore off the tape that sealed the brown box and looked inside. Natasha's eyes softened as she reached into the box and pulled out her gift. It was a pair of ballet shoes. When had she last practiced ballet anyways? It has been so long ago since her last performance. She had been on the other side back then, but that didn't mean that she didn't enjoy ballet. Natasha stroked the pink material softly as she thought. Maybe it was time to pick up ballet again. She did have some spare time, and she couldn't just waste it. Right?

Clint was the next to open his gift. He looked at both sides of the envelope skeptically before opening up the flap. Tony's gift was so small! What on earth could Tony give him in an envelope anyways? Clint tugged out the letter and flipped it open. That was weird. It looked like the page format used by his billing compa-... It was his billing company! Clint scrunched his face up in confusion before reading down the page.

"Clinton Barton, we are glad to tell you that your account has been cleared of the charge that was presented to us three months ago," Clint read softly. He remembered the accident that he had three months ago. A mission had turned south, and Clint ended up seeing the wrong side of a gun. Clint hadn't expected the injury to be so bad; it had only clipped him after all. That was why he had made his way back to Stark Towers with the intention of treating the injury on his own. Things didn't turn out that way.

He ended up fainting on his way up the elevator. He was told later that Tony had been the one to find him in the elevator. After hearing that, Clint had asked Tony to not tell anyone else about that incident. He would never hear the end of it from Natasha and Steve if they found out he collapsed. To his surprise, Tony had agreed. Tony had told him to be more careful, and then he was off. Clint had been almost sure that the event had vanished from Tony's mind by now. He gripped the letter tightly in his fingers and smiled. Tony really was something else.

By that time, Thor had finally figured out how to open an envelope without ripping the letter inside. He pulled out the letter and opened it curiously. It wasn't anything like what he had expected.

_Hey Blondie, _

_I know you're always moping for that brother of yours, so I thought I could offer my services. I had one of my Stark drones follow him around on Asgard. Don't ask me how I got the drone up there. I used less than legal routes if you know what I mean, so you had better appreciate it. _

_Loki spends most of his time hiking around the mountains of Asgard, so I advise you take him out there sometime. He also likes reading military history and... he likes white cats. That was unexpected for me too. I had thought he was more of a black cat kind of guy. _

_I'd advise for you to take him hiking or talk to him about history before you get him a cat though. It might be too sudden if you appear on his doorstep with a cat in tow. He might kick you out if you do that. _

_Best wishes,  
Anthony Stark_

Thor was shocked. He hadn't thought that Tony had noticed that he carried that picture of Loki around? He had been so careful to make sure no one noticed that. Thor hadn't wanted to make anyone worry about him just because he missed his brother. Thor smiled. He'd have to thank Tony for this later. He hoped that maybe, just maybe, this would help bridge the gap between him and his brother.

Bruce looked at the other Avengers that were all grinning over their presents and wondered what on earth they got. Bruce looked at the small box that he had received from Tony. He opened it up curiously. There was a small note with a pink and white flower stabbing through it to attack another letter to the note. Bruce pulled the paper out and plucked the flower out. He twisted it between his fingers mindlessly as he read the note.

"Tickets for two to the Bahamas?" Bruce murmured in confusion. He dropped the flower and opened up the envelope and slipped out the two tickets. The first ticket was addressed to his name, Bruce Banner, while the other was addressed to Betty Ross.

A memory flashed in the back of Bruce's mind. The two of them had been up having a late night drink with one another. Bruce had told Tony about his relationship with Betty. He worried that the two of them were growing apart since they were always too busy to see one another. Tony had tried to comfort him, but he had been inconsolable at that point. Had Tony remembered that talk?

"Tony, I think I misjudged you," Bruce whispered under his breath. "You're a much better person than I thought."

Steve was the last person to open his gift. His was the largest gift and was therefore covered in the most tape. Steve spent a good five minutes prying it all over before finally opening the gift. Inside the box was a tape recorder and a yellow file. Steve took out the tape player and set it on the ground before pulling out the file. He tapped the play button on the machine and the tape recorder clicked to life.

"Ah, it should be on now." Steve's head snapped away from the file to stare at the machine. The other Avengers looked at him curiously as Steve stared at the recorder in disbelief. Her voice had changed a bit, but he could still recognize it.

"Peggy?" Steve asked softly.

"You took your sweet time becoming unfrozen, Rogers. You still owe me that dance you know. Just because I'm old and gray doesn't mean I'm going to let you break a promise," Peggy ordered through the tape. "Penelope and I will be waiting for you. Penelope, say something!"

Some shuffling was heard on the tape as another person moved to be closer to the microphone. "Mom, you shouldn't strain yourself too much. But uh... , my name is Penelope. I am Peggy's daughter. She's been really excited to see you ever since she heard you were found in the ice. I hope you come to visit soon. You really do owe my mom that dance you know."

She sounded so much like Peggy when she was younger. Steve could remember the 1940's as if it were yesterday, and hearing Penelope was like a flash to the past. Steve opened up the file and saw Peggy's army retiree file. A red circle surrounded Peggy's newest address, and Steve rubbed his hand against his face. He tried to stop the tears from shedding, but he was just so happy.

Tony walked over to his friend and gave him a comforting hug. He was glad that he had made his friend to happy. "Merry Christmas everyone."

**Author's Note: As prompted by TXJ. **

**I really enjoyed writing this one-shot! Tony really is a kind guy even though he often comes off the wrong way. I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did! And Merry Christmas to all of you!**

**You may or may not have noticed this, but... I did remove the first one-shot from the series. :'D It didn't even turn out close to how I wanted it to, so I thought it better to replace it with this one. Sorry about the confusion!**


	2. Anyone Can Dance

Loki walked along the streets as little white snowflakes fell from the sky. The flakes tangled in his hair as he went. It was Christmas Eve, and he wasn't even sure where he was going. After being kicked out of Asgard, there wasn't really a place for him to go to. The only ones he knew on Midgard were the Avengers, and he was sure they would never accept him. The dim light of the street lamps lit his path as he walked aimlessly.

He didn't doubt that he'd probably be homeless for a while. He might even have to get a Midgardian job to survive. His stay on Midgard was indefinite until the Allfather changed his mind. Loki sighed, his breath freezing as it escaped his mouth. It was cold. He was a frost giant, but that didn't mean that he enjoyed the cold. He had gotten too used to the warmth on Asgard for that. A part of him wished he had kept a bit more of that cold-resistance over the centuries.

Loki pulled the thin cloak tightly around himself. First things first, he had better find some shelter from the snow. It wasn't as if he could create a shelter to protect himself. That wasn't magic. That was creation. Loki walked along the buildings, trying to find one with an overhang. That was when he saw a bustling building up ahead with lights shining brightly out of it. Glowing red letters stood on the side of the building reading 'Soup Kitchen'.

"Oi! You there!" Loki ignored the voice and turned away from the soup kitchen. He didn't know what a Soup Kitchen was, but company was the last thing he wanted right now. "Hey, stop!" A hand grabbed him on the shoulder, and Loki flung it off immediately. He turned to glare at the person behind him. It was a short woman with short blonde hair. She had a red knit cap tousling her hair and a pinkish flush on her face. "Do ya need some food?" Loki stared her incredulously so she added, "Ya just looked like ya needed it. You're like a stringbean, and ya don't have that much in the way of clothing. We're sorta here to help people like ya, so that's why I chased after ya."

Loki hated getting help from others. He hated being indebted, but... Loki looked up at the falling snow. It wouldn't be at all comfortable to stay outside in whether like this. "I will follow you, but only because I must." The woman smiled cheerily and pulled Loki towards the building.

"My name is Mikayla! I'm one of the volunteers for tonight. I can help ya get introduced to the rest of the folks inside if ya like!" Loki let himself be dragged towards the building. The voices of the people inside slowly got louder and louder as they approached. Loki cringed. He hoped that it wouldn't be too loud, but beggers couldn't be chosers. "Oh yeah! What's your name?"

"My name is Loki," he replied.

"That's a weird name. Tough luck on that one," Mikayla said with a laugh, unaware of the ire she had caused the trickster. He mentally told himself to keep calm and that the situation was only temporary. "Come over here! Avery is doling out the soup, so we can go get you a bowl!" Mikayla picked up a small white bowl and placed it in Loki's hands. "Just stay in line, and they'll take care of ya! I have to get back to work, but it was nice meeting ya, Loki!"

Mikayla gave a wave before exiting the building. Loki blinked slowly as she left before turning back to the line. Most of the people in the building looked rather shabby. One had a scraggly beard and a ripped forest green vest. Another had a blackened face and a faded blue sweatshirt with a university print on it. So this was how poor Migardians looked. There was one thing that surprised him though. Despite their situation in life, and despite the fact that they were stuck eating from a Soup Kitchen, they were all celebrating.

The bearded man was singing and clapping a song while some of the others danced in a small space. The man with the university shirt was once of those dancers. They both had happy smiles on their faces as they celebrated. As Loki watched them, he wondered how they could be so happy.

"It's because it's Christmas, boya." Loki looked around for the voice before looking down to see a wrinkled old lady standing beside him. A pink shawl was wrapped around her shoulders and her hands rested on a bumpy woody cane. She looked lunched even as she stood beside him, looking at the dancing crowd. "It's the one time of year where no one of have to worry about a thing. There's a bit a'hope in it too."

"We all care for each other here, but we all sincerely wish that we never have to see each other again. If people move up in the world, very rarely will we ever see them around here again." Loki detected a hint of sadness in the old woman's voice as she spoke. "All of us want to get out of here, but tonight is a night where we don't have to worry about it anymore. It's a day for celebration because we're still alive, and we have a warm place to sleep." Her gray eyes looked up towards Loki as she said, "So why don't you join in the celebration? An old woman like me can't dance, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't join in."

Loki blinked slowly before the faintest hint of a smile appeared on his face. "I wouldn't say that." He offered the old lady a hand and said, "Anyone can dance if they have the right partner." The old lady chuckled before placing one hand in Loki's.

"We'll see about that."

**Author's Note: This was a one-shot I came up with on my own. **

**I really enjoyed writing this one-shot! It's very simple, but it captures a lot of emotion in it. I hope no one minds the OCs. ^^ They all had a very brief existence anyways. I hope you all enjoyed it! **


	3. Santa Coulson and the Mini-Avengers

"Get out of my way, mortals! I need to reach the glowing tree!"

"OW! Be careful, Thor! Not all of us are as sturdy as you are!"

"I am sorry, Son of Rogers! But in all honesty, I did give you fair warning."

"Oh just shut up, you sissies. And it's called a Christmas tree, not a _glowing tree_. You're sounding as old as Capsicle now!"

Coulson nudged the present slightly to the side. The wrapping paper was covered in snowmen and dancing children. Coulson quite liked it! He looked over his shoulder to the door where the loud voices of the Avengers were coming from. "SHUT UP!" A high pitched voice yelled from the hallway. Coulson cringed. He stood up from where he was kneeling by the presents and walked over towards the door. He twisted it open and saw the poor Avengers.

Tony had been flung into the other side of the hallway and was slumped against the wall. Bruce was kneeling by him worriedly and was trying to shake his friend awake. Natasha stood by the door, her arms crossed and a scowl on her face. Clinton was trying to explain to Thor that no, hitting people was not a Christmas tradition. Steve was just about to enter a full on panic-mode as he tried to arbitrate peace between Natasha and Tony. Loki, on the other hand, was standing off to the side and looking from Tony to Natasha.

Coulson rubbed his forehead. He had quite the difficult lot. A small smile appeared on his face. He did love them all though. "Don't hit Tony too much, Natasha. It is Christmas after all." Natasha huffed before giving a small nod a few moments later. "Aren't you all curious to see what presents you all got this year?"

"That's right!" Tony shot up from where he had been collapsed against the wall and turned to look at Coulson with a cocky grin. "I need to see what amazing gifts I got this year! Follow me, my entourage!" Tony speed past Coulson and into the room, showing no signs of his previous injury.

Coulson laughed and opened the door wide open for the rest of the kids to enter. They all huddled around the tree, and Coulson sorted out presents. "You've all been very good this year. Santa told me that he took extra special care to make sure that you all got great gifts, and he hopes you will enjoy them!"

Tony, of course, was the first to open up his gift. He ripped through the red wrapping paper that was dotted with holly leafs to reveal a Bucky Balls set. Tony grinned as he opened up the box. Within minutes he was already on his way to creating his three-dimensional Bucky Ball house.

Thor was the next to open his gift. Coulson had taken extra care in getting Thor's gift because he knew that-WHACK. Thor whacked his present against the ground multiple times until Steve swiped it away from him. "You don't just whack it! You have to open it!"

"I was opening it! I was just breaking it open!" Steve shook his head and peeled away the wrapping paper for Thor. Thor took the box out of the wrapping and opened it curiously. Thor waved the toy hammer around, completely ignoring the workstation that had come with it. "I think I like this thing! I must thank this Santa person for it later!" Thor exclaimed, swinging around the hammer. Coulson wondered if it had been a good idea to get Thor a hammer.

Clinton was the next to open his gift. He pulled the toy bow and arrow set out of the paper and grinned. He pulled out one of the arrows and strung it up in the bow before firing it at Natasha. Natasha's hand immediately snapped up and grabbed the arrow out of the air. She sent a death glare towards Clinton, but it was a little less threatening considering the stuffed wolf on her lap. It was just too cute to make her look all that frightening.

Bruce and Steve sat beside one another, talking about their gifts. Bruce passed Steve his math coloring set, and Steve passed his bright red, white, and blue shield back. They complimented each other's gifts before hurriedly trading back for their own gifts.

Coulson beamed with happiness. He was glad that all of his hard work had paid off. He looked over all of the Avengers before realizing he didn't see Loki. A small tug on his pant leg brought his attention to where the black haired boy was. In one of his arms was the toy reindeer that Coulson had given him. "Why did you say it was from Santa?"

"E-eh? That's because it is from Santa," Coulson said with a nervous laugh. Was it that obvious?

"I am not stupid enough to believe in a fat man coming down a chimney to deliver gifts before defying gravity and shooting up the chimney to ride away on magical reindeer. There may be magical goats from Asgard, but there are no magical reindeer," Loki said simply.

"Don't spoil it for the others, okay? It adds a little something magical to the whole tradition," Coulson said with a nod. Loki was silent for a moment before eying the stuffed reindeer. A few moments later, he glared up at Coulson. Coulson jumped a bit at Loki's cold stare before hearing the words, "What do you require in return, mortal?"

"What are you talking about, Loki? This is a gift for you for being such a good boy this year!" Coulson said kindly, patting Loki on the head. Loki quickly swatted the hand away and stepped back a few feet, unconsciously hugging the reindeer tightly.

"No one ever gives anything without wanting something in return. What is it that you want? I'm not going to talk to Odin Allfather on your behalf if that is what you wanted," The small boy retorted. He glanced away towards the ground and shuffled a few steps back farther into his corner. Coulson's eyes softened, and he stepped forward.

Coulson knelt down in front of Loki and put a hand on the small boy's shoulder. Loki flinched slightly before looking towards Coulson. "I don't need anything from you, Loki. You've been a good boy this year, even if the others haven't seen it. I saw you trying to glue together the lamp that Bruce broke, and don't try to lie for him."

A faint red tint colored Loki's cheeks, and he buried his face in the brown plushie. Coulson smiled and said, "Merry Christmas, Loki. Now come on back to the circle. The others are waiting for you."

**As requested by Wayang Silver! (Sorry, it wouldn't let me save your name right. ;3; )**

**I really loved writing this one shot! Actually, I started writing it as soon as I saw it posted! I hope it was what you expected! ^^ Merry Christmas everyone!**


	4. Old-Fashioned Kind of Guy

_It's so thin and so light, yet iPhone 5 features a larger display, a faster chip, the latest wireless technology, an 8MP iSight camera, and more._ Steve held up the small pamphlet that was filled with information about the iPhone 5. To be perfectly honest, the pamphlet did next to nothing to fix Steve's confusion. What was a "chip"? For that matter, what was an "iSight Camera"? Was it any different from a normal camera?

Steve sighed and rubbed his tense forehead. Things had definitely changed during the past few decades. Apple Corporation hadn't even been in existence when he was alive back in the 1940s. As a matter of fact, Steve Jobs hadn't even been alive at that time! The hoard of Christmas shoppers bumbled around him as he stood in the middle of the bustling Apple Store. He had heard from Tony that getting people Apple devices was popular(though Tony promised they would be soon called Stark devices), but Steve was struggling to see the appeal.

Playing on an iPhone app(was that what they were called?) paled in comparison to running around outside and playing ball with the neighborhood kids. Then again, Steve wasn't quite sure if it was as fun. It looked fun from his perspective, but he had normally just supported his friends on the sideline. He got squashed more often than not. No one ever wanted him to play on their team. Perhaps an iPhone was a bit better because at least a phone could never reject you.

"Excuse me, sir. Can I help you?" Steve looked over his shoulder to see a young man with brown hair standing behind him. He wore a blue shirt and had a lanyard around his neck that marked him as an Apple employee.

"Ah, yes," Steve said after a few moments. "Can you explain to me why an iPhone 5 is better than the uh..." Steve wracked his mind for the names of all the other phones. Was it Droid or Android? Or were there two different phones by those names? And was it Lumia or Lumos? Steve scrunched his face up in confusion, making the employee laugh heartily.

"Better than the competitors? First of all, it is 3.95 oz compared to the Samsung Galaxy's 4.09 oz. Then we have one of the best averages for battery surf time at 7 hours and 13 minutes. It's totally awesome, lemme tell you. We also upgraded to an A6 chip which makes the iPhone 5 the fastest-" It was about this point that completely Steve tuned out. Was the .14 of an ounce that important in terms of weight? An ounce was only a sixteenth of a pound, and last he checked, kids were picking up weights by the pound, not by the ounce. Maybe things had changed in the past half century? And surf time? What was surf time? Did people play surfing games endlessly on their phones? Wouldn't it be depressing to see a sunny beach on your phone when it was cloudy and gray all the time?

"Have I told you about Siri yet? Oh, well I have to tell you about her." Wait. What? Who was Siri? Why did Siri have anything do with a phone? "She's a computer AI who is inside the iPhone 5." Steve openly gawked at the boy. An AI? What on earth was an AI? And there was somebody inside the iPhone 5? Steve had a hard time believing that, so he stopped the boy.

"I-uh... Thank you, but I think I'll look around some more." Steve smiled weakly as he exited the Apple store. Good grief, what was that? Had the world really changed so much in 50 years that he couldn't even understand what the man was saying? Steve could rationalize that it was to be expected that he would be a bit behind on the news, but he couldn't even hold a standard conversation anymore! Steve sighed.

That had been the third store he had visited. The first had been GameStop. That had been a nightmare as well. Xboxes, DSes, Playstations, and Wiis had not been around when he was a kid. Heck, personal computers had not even been around then! Apparently, they had developed two decades after he was around. His shock was compounded when he found out that people could practically carry computers... in their hands. That wasn't even counting laptops.

"The perfect gift" was becoming more and more obscure the more he looked. The second store he visited was RadioShack. It hadn't taken him very long before he became completely baffled by the seemingly endless supply of phones that all looked nearly identical. The employee there had assured them that they were, in fact, all unique, but Steve doubted it. No matter how he looked at them, they all merged together in his eyes.

Steve weaved his way through the busy crowds and walked back to the center of the mall. He sat on one of the couches that had been placed in the mall and rested his arm on the armrest. He propped his head up on it and sighed. Steve had planned on coming to the mall to get his friends gifts that were "up-to-date" and not "old-fashioned", but it seemed like he was doomed to fail.

It had been jarring to him, coming back to the 21st century. The plan was to get readjusted to society as quickly as possible, but it seemed like it wouldn't happen. The sounds of people echoing off the walls only reminded him about how things had changed. They had supermarkets and general stores back in his day, not malls.

Steve closed all of the noise out and tried to think. Christmas was coming soon, so he had to get his gifts now. What would he get though? He obviously didn't understand technology, but everything seemed to be based off of newfangled gadgetry nowadays. Steve got up from the couch and made his way to the in-store map. Dozens of names were listed on the map and most of them were unrecognizable. Until he found one, Barnes & Noble.

He remembered walking by that store everyday as a kid. A soft smile touched his face. He was glad that some things from the past had carried over to the present. He found the store on the map and turned to head towards the familiar store. Steve was more of an artist than a reader, but that didn't mean he didn't appreciate a good book. He hadn't seen many of the Avengers reading in the Tower, but that didn't mean they couldn't start.

Steve entered the store and immediately dived into the shelves. He explored the mystery section, lingering on Sherlock Holmes and Lord Peter Wimsey. The history section was a bit nostalgic. What people considered history in the 21st century has been a reality for him. Steve resisted the temptation to read the World War II novels because they would never feel as real as what he had experienced. Admittedly, he still wanted to know what people thought of him as a historical figure. It was strange to think of.

After a few hours inside the bookstore, Steve had finally picked out a few books for his companions. After excited the store, Steve looked at the bags and gave a small chuckle. His gifts were a bit old-fashioned, but that was who he was. He was an old-fashioned kind of guy giving his friends old-fashioned gifts. Now all he had to do was get home and wait for Christmas to arrive.

**Author's Note: As requested by Pink Heart Maiden. Kinda. I hope it what you expected. xD Poor Steve is so awkward in the Apple Store. **

**I'm glad that everyone has enjoyed this one shot series so far, and I hope you are having a great holiday season! **


	5. Fallen Out of Favor

She was an assassin. She didn't _do_ Christmas. Christmas Spirit? It was a waste of time. In her opinion, Christmas was just like any other day. They had never celebrated it in the Red Room. Any mention of the holiday was strictly forbidden because it was "pointless" and "distracting". That was why she didn't understand why so many people enjoyed the holiday.

Natasha dug her cold hands into her pockets and breathed into her red scarf. Fury had told her to keep an eye on a diplomat's daughter as she went Christmas shopping. Natasha thought the job was pointless. It didn't play to her strengths and a much stupider agent than her could have taken the role. The blonde foreigner was sorting through dresses on a clothes rack and was animatedly talking to one of her friends. The girl gave a happy smile and took the dress off the rack before skipping away to the dressing rooms.

Natasha resisted the urge to snicker. The girl looked like an idiot to be honest. Natasha crossed her arms and shook her head from outside the store. The girls had been inside the building for the past twenty minutes and had been shopping for the past three hours. During that time, Natasha had always stayed at least ten feet away from the party of girls as they made their way around the outlet mall. Normally, Natasha had parked outside on one of the many benches before moving along with the teens.

She had seen a lot of silly people that day. There had been a few people dressed as "Santa Claus" and even a few holiday elves walking around. Was this the Christmas Spirit? It seemed so embarrassing and self-degrading. Natasha didn't understand why Christmas was supposed to be so that if it only caused people to look like idiots.

In a few minutes, the girls purchased their goods and exited the store. Natasha shadowed the girls as they walked down the street with their bags in tow. Natasha wondered if Fury had assigned her to this mission for an alternative purpose. He couldn't really have _specially_ picked her because she was a girl. He would have known that she'd just follow Marie instead of standing right by her. Natasha noticed Marie stop and set her bags down beside her friends. The blonde nodded over to the side pointedly, and Natasha looked in that direction.

A ragged figure was sitting in an alleyway. He was slumped forward, his head bobbing slowly up and down. A dark grey knit cap covered his head, and his body was thinly cloaked in a tartan shirt and some ripped jeans. His breath froze whenever he breathed, and Natasha could see him shiver in the cold. It was a familiar sight to Natasha. It wasn't as if they clothed the Black Widow candidates that well either. It was fairly normal to be sentenced to sleeping outside for a few days if a girl had done something wrong.

Natasha turned back to Marie who had run up to one of the street vendors. She pointed to a large bowl on the soup menu and paid for the soup when she received it. The teen carried the soup back to the alleyway where she put it down beside the man. Natasha watched on edge as the two talked with one another before Marie stood up and waved goodbye. She ran back over to her friend and picked up her bags. They began walking again, and Natasha quickly began following them once more.

Natasha escorted the girls around for the rest of the day, watching them go to and fro until eventually waving each other goodbye. As the other girls left to take the train home, Natasha walked out from the crowd and up to Marie. Marie turned to her and smiled sweetly. "I don't know why you insisted on following me everywhere like that. It would have been much more fun if you went shopping with us!"

Natasha grunted. "I don't like shopping." They were quiet for a moment before Natasha asked, "Why did you do that thing earlier?" At Marie's confused expression, Natasha elaborated, "You gave food to that man. Why did you do it? He could have tried to mug you, you know."

"It's because I couldn't give him what I wanted to give him," Marie explained, brushing off the fact that she could have been attacked. "If I had given him better clothes, someone would only try to steal them from him." Marie gave a sad smile and shook her head. "I've seen it happen before in my hometown. I don't want to be just "well-intentioned"; I want to be someone that does do good. And anyways, you would have protected me if something bad happened. There was no risk involved, only benefit for him."

Natasha was quiet for a moment before asking, "But why? You didn't have to help him. You don't even get anything out of it." Natasha hugged her arms tighter as she remembered the cold from her youth. No one had helped her then. They had just minded their own business because helping someone who had, even if temporarily, fallen out of favor could not do them any good.

"I didn't know him, but I wanted to help him," Marie said with a smile. "It is Christmas after all. My father and friends will always give me gifts, but he might not get anything other than that bowl of soup. Even if it is something small, I wanted to make his day a bit happier." Natasha looked down at the younger girl with a slightly sad look on her face.

"I had better get you back to the embassy, but..." Natasha bit her lip. "I do wish there were more people like you back when I was a kid." Marie smiled cheekily, causing Natasha to shake her head. "Don't smile like that. I wasn't trying to compliment you. Just hurry up." As the two walked back to the embassy, Natasha gave a small hint of a smile. She think she understood why Fury chose her for this mission. She'd have to thank him later.

**Author's Note: Prompted by... Myself. :'D**

**I guess I never mentioned it before, but I am still taking ideas for one-shots. I tried hard to get one-shots prepared before posting them, but it didn't happen. xD I'm writing most of these the same day that I post them. So if you want to submit an idea, just post it in a review. ^^ **


	6. Thor Had A Plan

Thor had a plan. It was a _great_ plan. No one could doubt that this plan was the very best of its kind. Of course, there were not many of its kind. That was probably one of the reasons why it was the very best. At the very least, it was better than all of his previous plans anyways... Thor looked at the cat carrier on the ground beside him. A fluffy white face was pressed against the grating, staring up at him with pleading eyes.

Thor turned away from the cat, trying to resist the urge to pet the blue eyed creature. He could see why his brother thought white cats were so cute. They were so fluffy... but were also insanely difficult to capture. For his plan, Thor needed a wild white cat. He would have to capture it and release it again, so it couldn't just be a store-bought cat. He would feel guilty about releasing a store cat into the unknown, but the wild cat would be used to it.

And so, Thor had spent the past four hours running down white cats at every turn. A few times he had caught some owned cats and was chased away by angry owners, but he had finally succeeded. That was what really mattered anyways. He just hoped that none of the owners would try to find him. It would be difficult to explain to Tony about why there was a hoard of angry cat owners outside of his tower. Well, it would do no good to worry about the little things. What was it that all the young Midgardians said now? You only live once! Albeit, he did live a little bit longer than most, but the point still stood.

Thor hunched down beside the white wall that separated the neighborhood houses from one another. The house just to his right was Loki's. After being allowed to roam free on Midgard, Loki had bought a house and had taken a job as a magician. After Fury had interrogated him later, Loki had told them that they couldn't have _really_ expected him to take a real job. Thor stroked his beard. He supposed that was true. He couldn't picture Loki being a barista anyways.

The familiar creaking of a door was heard, and Thor scrambled over to the cat carrier. He picked it up and scooted it forward a bit more so it was closer to the end of the wall. Thor peered carefully around the corner to see Loki closing his door and locking it with a key. Thor smiled. His brother seemed so grown up. Wait, he had to execute the plan!

Thor ducked his head back in and unlocked the cat carrier. The white furball quickly scrambled out and stood on the sidewalk, trying to figure out its surroundings. "A cat?" Thor heard Loki say. He heard footsteps as his brother walked down the driveway to where the cat was standing in shock on the road. Thor tried to blend into the darkness as he watched his brother approach the cat. Now, Thor just had to figure out how to approach his brother. That was one of the problems with his plan. He didn't really have a plan of how to approach his brother.

He had found the cat in order to placate his brother and to have a topic of conversation, but how would he suddenly just appear. Thor thought about it for a few moments before shaking his head. He'd never meet his brother if he just stood there. He figured that he'd think of something on the fly if Loki happened to ask him. "Why hello there, brother!" Thor bellowed as he stepped out of the darkness.

Loki started in surprise before turning around to look at the blonde Asgardian. "What are you doing here, Thor?" Loki said after a few moments. He crossed his arms over his chest and tilted his head to the side. Thor was glad to see that his brother was more confident than he used to be. Never mind the fact that Loki was using his confidence to disdain him, it was all confidence in the end anyways.

"I was just happening to walk in the area, brother. It is nice to see you though! And what a nice cat that is. Is it yours?" Thor switched conversation topics quickly as Loki stared at him intently. Thor hoped that he wasn't being too conspicuous, but he wasn't exactly known for being stealthy. He just wanted to make things back up with his brother.

"No, it's not. I just happened to see it on the road," Loki replied. "Is there any reason that you wanted to talk to me? We do not have any reason to talk to one another now. If you are here to watch me, I have a job and have no intention of world domination. You can stop fretting about it."

"I was not here for that, brother!" Thor exclaimed. "I just wanted to invite you out to eat or something. I uh..." Thor stuttered, trying to think of how to describe it. It went off much better in his rehearsals. "I miss you, brother. I want to talk to you again like we used to when we were kids." Thor gripped one of his arms with his hand and rocked back and forth. "I know that I have done you many wrongs, but... I want to start anew with you again, brother. If you would be willing..."

Loki shook his head in his palm. Thor really was an idiot. "If you wanted to invite me out for a meal, you could have just asked me. There was no need to catch the cat for me though I do appreciate it." Loki picked the white cat up from the ground and stroked it. "It was pathetic watching the future king of Asgard being chased by an angry old lady because you tried to take her cat."

Thor laughed sheepishly before it struck him. "How did you know what I looked like? You weren't there, were you?"

Loki flushed. He hadn't meant to say that. He looked away and said, "I have a spell to keep watch on you. It's not that I _care_ or anything, but you're known for getting yourself in messes quite frequently. If I just let you walk around on your own, you could start a global war or something." Thor blocked out most of Loki's words except for "watch on you." Thor smiled broadly and grabbed his brother in a hug.

Loki and the cat squirmed to get away as they were hugged by the behemoth. "I appreciate it, brother." Thor released his brother from the hug and said, "Well, let's go eat! The Man of Iron recently introduced me to this nice little place where they sell this food called shwarma. I'm sure you'll love it." Thor looked up to the sky and silently thanked Tony for his Christmas gift. Maybe this could be a new start. Thor hoped it would be because that was in the plan too. His very best plan.

**Author's Note: As requested by Gelandra.(Kinda)**

**Sorry for updating late in the day! I spent all day baking Christmas cookies with my grandma. ^^ We baked for four hours, and I've come back with a burn on my hand. Oh well. It'll be worth it in the end. xD We baked over 200 cookies from a single batch of dough. And I've been invited over to do more of another type of cookie on Friday! -cheers- **


	7. Second Chances, Not Santa

They were dirty. No matter how hard he scrubbed them, they still reeked of dried blood. Clint moved the cleaning cloth along the arrow, but it never seemed clean. The arrows had been stained with innocent blood, and it was something that would never go away. Clint clicked his tongue and angrily stuffed the arrow back into the quiver. He pulled another one out of the stack of arrows he had beside him and began shining it again. He had to get rid of the dirt somehow, but nothing seemed to work!

The door creaked, and Clint looked up from his work to see the silhouette of Natasha in the doorway. She was leaned up against the frame with her arms crossed and was looking at Clint with an eyebrow raised. "Why aren't you in the main room with all of the others? Tony's counting down the minutes until it is Christmas, and he wants you in there as well."

"I could ask the same for you. Why aren't you in there?" Clint said, turning back to his work. The spotless arrow still looked dirty to him, but nothing he would clean it.

"You're dodging the question, Clint. And I was in there before I came to look for you. The real question is why are you trying to avoid everyone? No one has seen you for more than five minutes for the past week," Natasha said shortly. She was worried about Clint. Ever since he had come back from his last mission, he had seemed different. He seemed sad, but he refused to tell anyone why. She knew that bottling it up couldn't be healthy, but Clint had seemed to vehemently refuse all help offered to him.

"I just don't get the point. Christmas doesn't have to be celebrated by counting down minutes or giving fits. Anyways, it's a waste of time. I have things to do that don't include sitting around and talking with others about pointless things." Clint stopped shining the arrow and let his hand drop down beside him. "I don't deserve to be around them anyways. I'm the one who is a murderer here," he said quietly.

Natasha frowned. "You aren't a murderer, Clint. A murderer is someone who kill someone else because they wanted to. You didn't. That's why you're a soldier. And even if you stay by your incorrect definition of murder, all of the Avengers would forgive you. They care about you, Clint. We all do."

"There is no such thing as _forgiveness_, Nat!" Clint threw the arrow on his lap across the room. The arrow clattered to the floor as Clint breathed heavily. He shook before grunting and turning away from Natasha. A few seconds later he mumbled, "There is only temporary forgetfulness. There's no way that something like what I did could be forgiven. It was all for the mission, but I killed uninvolved children! I couldn't leave any witnesses, but I had to kill them just because they happened to live in that tiny little flea bitten village. Forgiveness... What a joke." Clint gave a wistful laugh and ran his hand through his hair.

Natasha's frown deepened and she walked further into the room. She sat down on the bed beside him. "Clint, do you know why winter is supposed to be the season of giving?" Clint blinked disbelievingly, and Natasha growled. "Just answer the question."

"No, but I don't see how it even matters," Clint replied, looking back to the arrow that was crumpled on the ground. He'd probably have to check it for any malformations or dents later. Clint sighed.

"Giving hadn't been a Christmas tradition until a man named Saint Nicholas came around. He originated from a rich family, but gave his inheritance to the poor and ill even though he had no reason to do so," Natasha explained.

"What does that have to do with anything?" Clint demanded impatiently. He was already in a bad mood, and he found the entire lecture completely pointless. It didn't resolve him of killing dozens of people for their sin of "existing at the wrong time."

"Shut up and let me talk," Natasha snapped back. "One of the stories of Nicholas is when he gave money to prostitutes in order to save them from having to continue on in their business. He didn't disdain them or call them filth because they did disgusting things for a living. He still cared for them and wanted them to be well." Natasha flicked Clint on the side of the head and stood up from the bed. She stood in front of Clint with his arms crossed and shook her head.

"If you don't understand why I said that, then you're slower than I thought you were." Natasha turned away and walked towards the door. She stood in the doorway and paused. Natasha glanced over her shoulder and said, "We'll be waiting for you. There isn't much time left, so don't be late."

Clint stared after her as she exited the room. The door slowly began to swing shut, and Clint bolted up from the bed. He knocked the door open and ran after Natasha. She had just turned down the hallway when Clint caught up to her, grabbing her by the arm. She looked back at him with an eyebrow raised. "Thank you for coming to get me, Nat."

Natasha smirked. It was just like Clint to pretend like nothing had happened. "If you're going to thank me, then thank me by keeping me company. I need someone to help me keep my sanity if I'm going to be stuck in the same room as Tony."

Clint nodded and said dramatically, "Your wish is my command, Madame."

**Author's Note: As requested by TXJ. **

**I hope you enjoyed the one-shot! A lot of the one-shots so far have been fluffy, so I thought this one was a good change of pace. There are a lot of hurt people in the world, but Christmas is a reminder for us to reach out and help others even if they don't seem like they need it. **


	8. It's Not Nice To Keep A Girl Waiting

Steve held his hand in front of the door. His knuckles hovered above the wood, just waiting to knock. Something made him stall. Steve didn't think he was all that cowardly. He knew that there were quite a few people out there that would ever dare to call him brave, but he didn't feel particularly brave right now. He was afraid to knock on a door for Pete's sake! Steve took in a deep calming breath before raising his hand to knock on the door, but he just couldn't do it.

Steve groaned and buried his face in his palms. He just needed to knock on the door. Why was he feeling so afraid? Steve looked through the gaps between his fingers and sighed. He knew why he was too afraid to knock on the door. It was because he felt apprehension. There had been such a big build up to this moment that he was afraid that some part of the dream would break. He was going to see the woman that he hadn't seen for over fifty years. Would he be disappointed or would he be disappointing to her?

He had played the recording over and over again since he had gotten it early that morning. Steve had excused himself from the Christmas party in order to rush off to the address that Tony had given him. It was only when he stood outside her house that he realized he could be intruding. No, he would definitely be intruding. It was Christmas, and she probably had people over at her house. Would it be wrong of him to knock on such a day?

As Steve deliberated outside the door, he didn't notice the curtains on the nearby window twitch ever so slightly. Inside the yellow painted house, a thirty-five year old woman let the curtains fall back into place. "Mama, I think it's him! It's the one that you were telling me about... Steve, right? He looks exactly like the picture you showed me!"

The white tangle of hair that stuck up behind the back of the padded green rocking chair shot up as Peggy heard her daughter's words. Peggy reached a frail hand out for her cane and grasped it tightly in her hand. She brought herself to her feet and said, "Let him in, Penelope! It's not as if we're doing anything in here anyways." Peggy could hardly conceal her excitement. She could still vividly remember when she first met Steve, and he was that short lean boy. And then he had changed ever so much, well his appearance did, he was still the same on the inside. Peggy snorted. He had been positively maddening at times.

Her eyes softened as she watched Penelope go to unlock the door. She could also remember the last radio message between the two of them. She remembered the unadulterated horror that she felt when Steve told her "I gotta put her in the water." Peggy had cried for a while after that. She had thought that she'd never see the Brooklyn boy ever again. Then he had appeared on the television. Time had aged her, but he still remained the same.

The white washed door swung open to reveal Steve, standing awkwardly with his hand still raised. Steve's mouth opened before closing again. He swallowed before awkwardly raised his hand and waving, "Hello Peggy. It's been awhile."

Peggy smiled. "It's not nice to keep a girl waiting, Rogers. When most people take rain checks, it's not for a few decades. But come on in anyways, you're going to catch cold out there." Steve rubbed the back of his head sheepishly and stepped inside the house after rubbing his shoes off on the mat. Penelope closed the door behind him and ushered Steve over to the living room.

"That pretty young lady is my daughter, Penelope," Peggy said as he walked back over to her seat. She slowly leaned back into her chair and rotated it to face Steve and Penelope. "She's the daughter of my husband who died a few years ago. He would have liked you to if he had still been around." Peggy gave a rasping sigh. "You took your sweet time in coming, but I'm glad that you finally did." The smirk on Peggy's worn face sent Steve spiraling back into the past. He was glad that Peggy was still the same in some ways.

"Sorry about that, Peggy. You know how bad I am at keeping time, but I'll always keep a promise." Steve said with a chuckle. "And it's a pleasure to meet you, Penelope. I'm Steve Rogers." Steve gave a slight bow before smiling a bit. He wondered what kind of a man Peggy had married. She didn't seem like the type to settle down, but he supposed he would never know what the man was like now.

"Then you had better find a way to take me dancing though I can barely stand," Peggy replied with a roll of her eyes. Penelope stood off to the side as the two old friends conversed. She hadn't seen her mother this energetic ever since her father had died a few years ago. She looked over to Steve who had a warm smile on his face. Peggy had often told stories about Captain America to Penelope when she was a child, but never did she expect that the captain would appear again.

Penelope looked down at her hands. Peggy probably didn't have many years left in her, so Penelope was glad that Steve managed to visit her before she passed on. Peggy had been too frail to join the rest of the family at the other house where they were hosting the Christmas party, so Penelope had decided to pay her a visit. Never had she expected Steve Rogers to arrive on the doorstep, but she was glad he did. This was probably the best Christmas gift her mother had received in years.

"Let me clear away some of the furniture. If you're going to dance, you need a place to dance on, right?" Penelope said with a laugh.

**Author's Note: As requested by Georgie Max!**

**This one-shot is an extension off of the first chapter as you may have guessed. (I was surprised there were so many requests for extensions. xD) I hope you enjoyed it!**

**And sorry if I didn't reply to your review... I forgot which ones I already replied to. O_x And if I replied to you twice... Sorry about that. XD**


	9. Christmas Cookies

It all started earlier that morning. It was Christmas Eve, and all of the Avengers had gone to Stark Tower to celebrate. Even Thor was present, though he had duties in Asgard. They had just finished preparing all of the stockings when Steve said the fateful question, "Has anyone baked the cookies yet?"

The cheery group fell eerily silent. Steve tilted his head to the side in confusion. Had he said something wrong? "What are you even talking about, Rogers?" Clint asked blankly.

"You know... Christmas cookies. The cookies you bake for Christmas and the ones you leave out for "Santa"?" Steve couldn't believe that Clint had never baked Christmas cookies before. Steve had always baked cookies with his mother during Christmas week. He had stopped believing in Santa awhile back, but the baking tradition stayed.

"I never baked cookies when I was a kid. It wasn't as if the circus had any ovens to bake in anyways," Clint said with a shrug. "I thought the Christmas cookies were just an excuse to be fat and have treats."

Steve's mouth dropped open. How could Clint have such a horrible impression of Christmas cookies? "What about the rest of you?" Steve turned on the rest of the oddly quiet superheroes.

"I was in the Red Room during most of my childhood. Do you really think that they taught how to make cookies for a fictitious man in a red suit?" Natasha said sarcastically.

"I have never celebrated this Christmas before." Thor shrugged. He didn't understand what the big deal was, but apparently it was important to Steve.

"It's easier to just buy cookies. They are higher quality that was too," Tony said with a grin. "When I was a kid, "Santa" requested Madame Queen's chocolate chip cookies and a bottle of Martinelli's sparkling cider."

Steve rubbed his forehead. He couldn't believe all of them! Natasha and Thor, he understood, but the others? Steve turned to Bruce desperately, hoping that someone would take his side.

"I made cookies when I was very small, but we stopped after figuring out that our father was Santa," Bruce explained. "I kind of miss the cookies though. They were good while they lasted. The betrayal of figuring out that he was Santa lasted a few years until I was about 10 though. And by that time it was sort of late to begin again."

Steve sighed. At least Bruce sort of knew what he was talking about. "I'm glad that at least you have baked cookies before." Steve looked around the tower and said, "We've already set up everything else. It can't hurt to try and makes cookies, could it?" Little did Steve know, it really could hurt.

After a few hours and two trips out to the grocery store(they didn't have enough butter on the first trip), they had everything prepared. The mixer was out; the cookie sheets were sparkling on the counter. Butter, flour, sugar, and eggs were spread randomly across all the open spots on the counter. Steve had looked up a recipe that his mother had used when he was a child.

"All right. We're ready to begin baking. I've written the instructions on this piece of paper, and I'll stick it on the fridge. If we just follow the instructions, we'll be able to do this." Looking back on it, Steve didn't realize how naive he was. The Avengers, notorious for disobeying rules, would never read instructions. Thor threw the eggs into the mixer without breaking the shells, Clint tossed red food coloring into the mixer, Natasha snapped the handle of the electronic mixer, and Tony kept on complaining about how it would be easier to buy cookies.

Bruce was the only one keeping Steve sane, but he somehow doubted that Bruce would help him for very much longer. Bruce was off in the corner of the room, trying to prevent himself from yelling at the mischievous superheroes. Steve felt like joining them, but the cookies would never get done if he did. He rubbed his face with his hand and tried to get himself to calm down. The cookies had gone in the oven a few minutes ago, so he only had to wait another minute or two more for them to come out.

Then he smelled smoke. Steve looked up towards the oven to see a black smoke trail curling up from the oven. Steve rushed past Clint to fling open the oven. A black cloud slammed into him, causing him to hack and cough. Why had the cookies burned? They were supposed to be in for six minutes! He looked up at the oven settings and found his problem. Seven hundred degrees?! Steve's mouth dropped open. "Thor! I thought I told you to set the oven to 425 degrees!"

Thor blinked slowly before saying, "Oh."

Steve turned the oven off and pulled the cookies out and placed them on the island. "JARVIS! Don't let the fire alarms go off! Everything is just fine!" Steve yelled at the AI as he tried to wave away the smoke. This had been an absolute disaster.

"See? I told you we should have just bought the cookies," Tony commented, looking over Steve's shoulder at the charcoal husks on the pan. Finally, Steve snapped. He had tried to make Christmas cookies, but everything seemed to be against him. It was over. There was no way he could get the Avengers to bake cookies.

"Fine! Go buy some for all I care! I give up! It's impossible to get you guys to do anything that you don't want to do. It's ridiculous!" Steve shouted angrily. He sighed and stormed away, slamming the door behind him.

Clint looked from Tony to Natasha before saying, "Well... What do we do now?"

-Christmas Cookies-

After a few hours had passed, Steve had managed to calm down. He looked up at the clock. It was 9pm. Steve sighed. He really shouldn't have blown up like that. Steve slipped off the bed and exited his room, going down the hallway. He opened the door to the kitchen and furtively looked around inside. It seemed that everyone had already left. A small platter was on the counter with saran wrap covering it. Steve walked over to it to see a pile of cookies sitting on top of the red plate.

A small notecard rested on top of the cookies. Steve peeled off the wrap and picked up the notecard.

_Hey Rogers,_

_Sorry about what happened earlier. Didn't quite realize how serious you were about the whole cookie thing. Anyways, we burned a few more batches before producing these. You had better enjoy them and leave them out for "Santa" or whatever you do with them. We really did slave over them, just so you know. _

_Unsincerely yours,  
Tony, Bruce, Clint, Natasha, and Thor_

Steve's eyes softened as he read the note. They had eventually made the cookies. Steve chuckled. The Avengers could be trained after all. He'd have to thank them later.

**Author's Note: Inspired by the five to six hours of cooking baking I've done over the past three days that has distracted me from writing these oneshots. :P **

**At the Anon... Steve was not flirting with Peggy. The fact that she was in her 70's-80's could have helped. Can't a 20 year old guy be friendly to a 70 year old girl without being called a flirt? D: They're just old friends! **


	10. The Best Christmas Gift

It was their first Christmas like this. The Avengers sat still as the clock struck midnight. It was Christmas Day, but none of them quite felt like celebrating. Natasha had mentioned it a few hours ago. It was their first Christmas as a part of SHIELD. Every member they had met had come to celebrate. All, but one. Agent Coulson was dead. They would never know what it would be like to celebrate Christmas with him.

They held a moment of silence as the clock chimed on the wall. It was all they could give Coulson right now. All of the Avengers missed him sorely. Steve missed how Coulson was always talking about the "old days" with the Red Skull and how Coulson used to try and get Steve to tell him stories. Tony missed how Coulson would always be the first to stop them all from arguing, now it was too silent. Clint missed hearing Coulson's voice in his earpiece telling him that "Hawkeye" was being too conspicuous. Thor regretted the fact that he was unable to prevent Coulson's death at the hands of his brother and wished that he could apologize to the agent. Even Bruce and Natasha missed the way Coulson kept on trying to shove them into conversations. It was just lonely without him.

Fury looked over the dower agents and cleared his throat. "I'll be right back. I left my gift for you all elsewhere." The agents in the room all gave mumbled sounds of acknowledgement as Fury left the room. He strode down the hallway to his office and knocked soundly on the door. "Are you ready yet? It's time."

-The Best Christmas Gift-

Tony rapped his fingers on the table. Fury had been gone for ten minutes already and the excitement had worn off. Where was he anyways? Tony doubted that Fury had some great big gift to haul in. The Avengers had caused Fury enough grief to prevent that. So what could he be doing? Could he have forgotten where he was going?

That was when everyone in the room heard a high pitched squeak. Maria looked towards the door which was slowly being pushed open. Her heart clenched when she saw who was in the doorway. "Phil?"

And there he was. Philip Coulson stood in the doorway as if nothing had changed. He was in his customary black suit with perfectly shined shoes. His hair was groomed to perfection and it seemed as if time had turned backwards. He was there. He was alive. It took a few minutes for it to sink in before they all reacted. "Son of Coul! You are alive!" Thor boomed out as he rushed to wrap Coulson up in a hug.

"Thor! THOR!" Coulson was lifted up into the air as he struggled to get away. "Drop me, Thor!" Thor put Coulson back onto the ground, but beamed at the other man. "I'm glad to see you again too, but please don't do that," Coulson said with a cough. The rest of the Avengers rushed up to Coulson, welcoming him back from wherever he had gone.

"How are you alive?" Bruce asked softly. He was still in shock from seeing the SHIELD agent back from the apparent dead. "I thought you had died on the Helicarrier?"

Coulson sheepishly scratched the back of his head. "Well, that was the official story. What really happened was I entered a blood loss induced coma. I was brought into surgery soon afterwards, but my chances of survival were slim. They didn't want to get your hopes up if I did happen to die. I can understand why they did it, so don't harass Commander Fury over it." Coulson gave a small smile and shook his head. "I know you are all thinking about it, but try not to."

Natasha raised an eyebrow. Coulson shouldn't have even mentioned it. She just knew that Clint would take it as a challenge. She glanced over towards the SHIELD agent who was looking innocently off to the side. "Oh no..." She grumbled, rubbing her forehead. It was too late.

Tony felt a nudge and looked over to see Clint looking at him mischievously. It took Tony a few moments before he caught on to what Clint was trying to say. "I like how you think, Clint. How long do you think we should do it?"

"Ohhh... A day is too short. For our dear Commander Fury, we need to give him a bit longer than that. How about three days? No, a week!" Maria nudged Fury, causing him to look towards the two pranksters in the corner. Dread filled Fury's chest as he heard the two talk.

"That sounds just about right. What a great Christmas gift. Only the best for our Commander after all! He gets a full week of fun for his Christmas. Not everyone is so lucky to be in our presence for a full week after all." Tony said, his head bobbing up and down. A cruel smirk sat on his face as he turned towards Fury. The smirk vanished into a deceptively innocent smile as Tony met Fury's eyes. "Why, Fury! We were just talking about you, angry man!"

"I don't think I even want to know," Fury said. He tried to walk away, but a hand grasped him by the shoulder.

"Oh, you can't go yet, Commander! We have to tell you something important! It's about your Christmas gift since we didn't get it to you on time," Clint said with a cruel smile.

"I don't need a gift. You don't have to bother," Fury said worriedly. He really did _not_ like the way that Tony and Clint were looking at him.

"We'll give you the joy of our presence for a full week for this wonderful Christmas gift. We can't just give you nothing after you brought back Coulson for our gift," Tony said with a smile. "Really Fury, you need something _special_ for giving us the best Christmas gift." Fury swallowed. The next week would really be painful.

**Inspired by: TXJ's prompt.  
It isn't exactly what you had requested, but the idea came from some parts of the prompt, so it kinda counts. XD**

**And sorry for the late update. I'm slightly depressed right now, so I wasn't in the mood. ;-; Unfortunately, I have quite a bit to be working on at the same time so my mood isn't helping at all. -sigh- Oh well. I hope you enjoyed the one-shot!**


	11. The Best Worst Christmas

"Woah there, partner!" Tony crouched down beside the young boy. "I don't remember ever agreeing to participate in this play of yours. I don't care whether or not it's "important". There is no way you are going to get me into that thing." Tony pointed at the fluffy costume that lay beside the wall. Huge tufts of white wool stuck out everywhere and there were four tiny black dots to symbolize hooves.

"But Dad!" The little back haired boy whined, "We need animals for the Christmas play! We can't have a manger scene without there being animals in the stable! You only need to be a sheep for an hour. Please? Pretty pleaseee?" Anthony Jr. pulled on his father's sleeve and looked up at his father with big doe eyes. Tony gulped. Those were the same eyes that Pepper used on him to get him to do paperwork. He just couldn't resist.

Tony rubbed his face in his palm and sighed. "Fine. I'll do it. Only for you though, Junior." Tony tousled his son's hair as the younger boy giggled happily.

"Yes! That was easier than I thought. Now I need to check and see how the others did!" Tony blanched. Others? What was he talking about? Anthony Jr. squirmed out of the reach of his father and ran backstage and into one of the side doors.

"It looks like you got wrangled into this too, didn't you?" Tony looked over his shoulder to see Steve leaning against the wall. His arms were crossed and his face was set into a glower. "I'm glad I'm not the only one suffering then."

"Pfft. I'm sure you're better off than I am." Tony pointed at his costume. "I'm supposed to be a sheep!" Steve snorted.

"A sheep? That's not bad at all! I have to be the donkey!" Steve gritted his teeth as Tony broke out into laughter in front of him. "It isn't funny, Stark! I'm only doing it because Riley begged me, but don't you dare try to take pictures." Under his breath, Steve mumbled, "I'm going to destroy all copies of this play when it is over..."

"You'll make a wonderful donkey, Rogers," Tony giggled, tears at the corners of his eyes. "You have just the right personality for it." At that, Tony began laughing again. Steve marched over to Tony and kicked him soundly in the side, causing the billionaire to hunch up in a ball. "That hurt, Rogers!"

"You deserved it," Steve said monotonously. The door that Anthony Jr. had run into a few minutes ago opened up again to reveal a very happy Anthony Jr. and a giggling red headed girl. The red head skipped towards Steve and Tony with a pleased smile on her face.

"Uncle Steve and Uncle Tony! Junior told me about how you'll be helping out in the play! Good news! Mama and Papa will be participating too!" Steve and Tony shared a glance before breaking out into giggles. "Mama is going to be the front half of the camel and Papa is going to be the back half!"

"No need to tell them, Mariya. Though I'm sure they would have figured it out anyways." From the doorway, Natasha looked utterly defeated. She was hunched forward with her head hanging low. She had to play the part of one of the camels. She couldn't believe it. Natasha was a SHIELD agent for goodness sakes! Why did she have to play a camel?

Clint came up behind her and dropped his head onto hers. He sighed and said, "You don't have it so bad, Nat. I'm stuck playing the rear end of a camel. At least you have the head." Children were absolutely terrifying to Clint. At first, he had thought Mariya was just an adorable sweetheart. Then he figured out she had the wits of her mother. What Mariya wanted, Mariya got. It was that simple. It really sucked.

Steve wiped a tear from his eye. "I'm sorry about that, you two. It looks like you're going to be stuck with us, huh?"

"Unfortunately." Natasha walked out from under Clint, causing him to stumble a bit. Natasha walked over to where her two teammates were and crouched down beside them. Her eyes drifted over to the white ball of fuzz and back to Tony. "So that is the fabled sheep costume that I have heard all about." Tony's face turned into abject horror. "Junior told me _all about it_. You have quite the fun role, I heard. You even get to "baa" a few times." Natasha smirked. "Won't that be fun to see."

Tony's head whipped around towards Anthony Jr. who was rocking back and forth on his heels. "What does she mean by that? I have to "baa" like a sheep too?!" Tony exclaimed.

"Did I forget to mention that, Dad? Sorry about that. Don't ask, don't tell!" Anthony Jr. chirped innocently. Tony groaned. The kid was way too much like his mother. Pepper always told him to read the fine print, and now Anthony Jr. was telling him to ask more questions. This was awful.

At the end of the stage, a door swung up. All heads turned towards it as Bruce, Betty, and his daughter came walking into the room. "But Bailey, I don't think I'm right for the role? Don't you think your mother would be a better choice?" Bruce pleaded, pointing towards Betty.

"No! I want you to be the cow! Please, father! You know how much I want this play to be a success..." The black haired girl lowered her head and gave a few sniffles, causing Betty to glare at her husband. Bruce jolted as he felt a flood of killing intent come at him from his wife.

"I-I can do it if you really want me to, Bailey..." Bruce said hesitantly.

Bailey looked up towards her father and asked, "Really?"

"Really," Bruce said with a sigh. Bailey cheered and hugged her father.

"This is going to be the best play ever!" Bailey turned around and waved to the other kids. "Did you guys get them to sign on?"

Anthony Jr. snigged, "You betcha, Bailey! Dad was really easy to dupe, and Riley got Uncle Steve to join in as well!"

"And Mama and Papa are going to play the camel!" Mariya said with a smile. She didn't know why people were so afraid of her parents. They weren't all that hard to manipulate. Maybe that was the wrong way to think about it actually... She'd worry about it later.

"Then let's get to practicing!" Bailey cheered.

Tony groaned, "This is going to be the worst Christmas ever."

**Author's Note: I watched Charlie Brown Christmas a few days ago, and I was thinking about the Christmas play. This idea popped into my head, and I just had to write it. I also just realized something this morning... I evidently can't count my days right, so there is a slight change of plans. There will be 13 oneshots instead of 12 because I belatedly realized that 12 oneshots only takes me to the 24****th****... Oops. **

**Thank you for all of the encouragement you guys! I really appreciate it. ^^**


	12. Loneliest Time of Year

Nicholas Joseph Fury did not celebrate Christmas. He appreciated the holiday and let his agents celebrate in their own way, but he never joined. He never wanted to. He was never wanted. It was all the same in the end. He just didn't celebrate it. Every Christmas he locked himself in his office above the bridge and did his work until the parties died down and all was quiet. Then, he finally retired to sleep once more.

This Christmas was just more of the same. He had gathered his pile of work and set it on the table. Two hundred and sixty-three documents were just waiting to be signed. Fury sighed as he pulled yet another sheet off the stack. Music echoed through the walls as the Helicarrier was abuzz with activity, all, but Fury. Like every other year, no one had invited him to the Christmas party. It was traditional that he never attended though he didn't know why it turned out like that.

A part of Fury wished he could go out and celebrate with the rest of his agents, but he knew it would be more awkward if he went. It was practically a Christmas gift to his agents that he didn't go. It would ruin the mood of the entire event. Fury scribbled another signature before moving the paper over. He laid his pen on his desk and stared down at the wood despondently. That was when he heard a knock. "Come in!" He called out.

The door was turned open, and Maria stepped into the room. The brown-haired agent shut the door behind her and walked over to Fury's desk. "What are you doing in here, Commander? Don't you want to come down to the bridge?"

Fury snorted. "Not particularly. I'm not really the type who enjoys partying, Agent Hill. You can go if you wish though. It is of no consequence to me." Maria quirked an eyebrow and looked over the paperwork on Fury's desk.

"Aren't you going to give yourself a break at least?" Maria snatched Fury's pen out from his hand and stuck it in her pocket. "Of all days, Christmas shouldn't be one filled with paperwork. Unless you are really that interested in authorizing the cafeteria to buy three tons of oranges," Maria commented, looking over the piece of paper that Fury had been signing.

"Why are you doing this, Hill?" Fury asked as he leaned back into his chair. "There is no need for you to come out to talk to me. I'm sure you would have much more fun if go to celebrate with the rest of the agents." Fury inclined his head towards the Christmas party that was going on in the bridge just through the glass. The echoes of their cheers penetrated the walls and faintly met their ears.

"To be honest," Maria turned around and crossed her arms. "I came in here because you looked lonely just signing your paperwork. You've been doing this for the past four hours, Commander." Fury frowned. He did not look "lonely." He had been perfectly fine all of his life without needing friends or companions. He was a soldier, not a schoolgirl who needed friendship to survive. "Don't deny it, Commander." Fury snorted. What did Maria know about how he felt? She was just his subordinate! "I can see that look in your eyes. And I'm not stupid, Commander. With all due respect, it's my job to pick up on the small things. I asked the other agents, and they said that you never celebrate Christmas with them. After watching you for a little bit, I think I know why."

"Oh really now, Agent Hill? Enlighten me," Fury challenged. He wanted to see why she thought such ridiculous things. A hand clenched inside of his dark overcoat pocket. He wasn't lonely! That was for people much weaker than him.

"Christmas is the happiest time of year for some," Maria said, waving to the agents celebrating in the bridge. "But it's also the loneliest time of years for others. When you have no one to celebrate with, it only brings attention to all the others who have friends to celebrate with. You're not exactly the most sociable of people, Commander. It wasn't very hard to tell that something was wrong." Maria smiled softly at Fury. "You needed someone to celebrate Christmas with. It isn't the same when you try to celebrate on your own."

Fury grunted and looked away from his subordinate. Something about Maria's words reminded him about all of the Christmases he spent on the Helicarrier. In his first years, he spent Christmas sitting in a corner of the cafeteria working on paperwork. After getting his own office, he drank and did more paperwork. And still, all of these years later, he did more paperwork. The first years had been the most painful because no one ever asked him to join them in celebration, so work was the only thing to keep him company. All of these years... Fury closed his eyes. "Thank you, Agent Hill. I appreciate what you have done."

Maria smirked. "I'm glad to help, sir. Now come on, Commander. The night is still young. I doubt the Helicarrier is going to sleep for a long time yet, and you're not going to spend the rest of night signing papers." Maria held a hand out to Fury. Fury looked at the hand warily before taking it and pulling himself up from out of his chair. "Now let's go. I know Agent Coulson makes a mean apple cobbler, and I think I hear it calling."

**Author's Note: Sorry for the late update everyone! ^^ I've been baking pumpkin pie today, and I'm dead tired. I hope you all had a great Christmas Eve! Tomorrow will be the last one-shot, so I hope you enjoy this one-shot series to the very end! ^^ **


	13. Sledding on a White Christmas

"Sledding? Where do you think we're going to sled, Stark? We're in New York City. To be exact, we're on a skyscraper. There's nowhere for us to sled on!"

"The rooftop is plenty big. If we piled enough snow up from the overhang, it would work."

"You're mad. There's no way that would work! What if someone fell off the side of the building?"

"I can use my suit, Thor can catch them, Loki can zap them, or the green guy can come out and catch them. Don't worry so much, Natasha. You have to live a little bit!"

"I fail to see why I need to sled on top of a skyscraper to potentially fall off of the aforementioned skyscraper in order to live a little. In fact, I think it is more likely that we'll all die trying to sled instead of having fun," Natasha deadpanned. She hated the way they were all looking at her. Tony was about to start begging, Clint had doe eyes activated, Steve looked like he was about to shyly ask her to give in, Bruce was looking out at the snowy rooftop longingly, and Thor was already trying to drag his brother out into the snow(Loki was vehemently protesting).

"But I told you! It'll be all right, Natasha! We got it covered. I'll just have to start piling up the snow and we'll be cool! Plus, there's a rail," Tony said nonchalantly, waving his hand carelessly.

"The rail is tiny! Do you really think it will prevent Thor from falling when he's rolling down from the roof?" Natasha groaned and rubbed her forehead. "Actually, I give up. I'm never going to be able to control you all. I wish Coulson wasn't on leave right now. He's back me up on this."

"Good point, Natasha!" Tony chirped. He turned back to the rest of the Avengers and said, "You heard the lady! We need to go sledding before Coulson comes back, so let's hurry up and make that hill!" Clint cheered and bolted out onto the rooftops, leaving a tired Natasha behind.

Thor dragged his brother onto the rooftop and point to the snow. "Brother, can you help us move the snow?" Loki snorted.

"You must be joking. You cannot be really asking me to move snow with magic are you? Is that not just... trivial?" Thor drooped his head a bit, and Loki groaned. "Fine. I shall do it only because it is... what is it? Christmas?" Loki clapped his hands twice and held his palms out at the snow that covered the deck. Snow flew from Steve's hands as a gigantic snow ramp formed. Loki waved his hands around carefully as he sculpted the snow slide. Within a few minutes, he was done. There was even a snow staircase leading up to the overhang for the Avengers to reach the top easily.

"That is incredible, brother!" Thor exclaimed, admiring the snow structure.

Loki crossed his arms and looked away, "It was nothing. Now are you not going to go up there yourself? I shall watch from down here, so go on." Thor looked scandalized.

"I cannot leave you down here on your own, brother! You shall come up with me!" Thor grabbed Loki by the arm and dragged the horrified Asgardian away. Tony sniggered as Loki tried to whack Thor away with his fists, obviously failing.

"Come on, Brucie! We have to go up too! We can't let them have all the fun!" Tony herded Bruce towards the complex structure with a gleeful look on his face.

Natasha sat cross-legged in one of the few dry patches of the deck and watched as Thor jumped down the huge slide with Loki. The younger Asgardian screamed what appeared to be Asgardian profanities as he tumbled down the slope. Natasha counted the seconds on her fingers until finally the two slammed into the guardrail. Thor was the one who took the brunt of the impact, lying on the ground dazed for a few moments before getting up again.

"That was very fun! Come, brother! We must do it again!" Loki's head whirled as he faintly felt Thor drag him around again. He was going to be sick soon. Oh why didn't he have it in him to blow up his brother? It would make his life ever so much simpler.

"Come on, Nat! You have to come and sled with us too!" Clint said, tousling Natasha's head. Natasha quickly swatted his hand away and glared at him.

"I do not have to. In fact, I'm going to sit right here if you don't mind," Natasha replied, watching as Tony spun around in circles on his way down the hill. Sledding looked so... undignified. A loud crash was heard, and Natasha cringed. It looked awfully painful too.

"I do mind actually. Come on!" Clint yanked Natasha up by the arm and began dragging her towards the hill.

"No." Natasha tried to pull her arm back onto to realize that Clint wasn't going to let go that easily. "Let me go, Clint!" Clint just smiled as he practically hauled her up the stairs to the top of the hill. "There is no way I'm going to do that."

"Yes, way. Now come on. In three, two," Natasha's eyes widened as she realized what Clint was about to do. She tried to pull her arm out quickly, but it was too late. "Let's gooooooo!" Clint pulled Natasha to the side, causing the two of them to fall on one of the waiting pieces of cardboard. Natasha gave an undignified scream as the two of them hurtled down the hill.

She stuck a leg out and kicked the cardboard off to the side, sending them spiraling away from the guard rail. Natasha clamped her eyes shut until the cardboard finally pulled to a stop. She opened an eye to see Clint laughing at her from his spot on the cardboard. "You're such a chicken, Nat!"

Natasha growled, "I am not!" She stood up from the snow and brushed herself off. "I'll prove it to you! We're doing that again!" Natasha picked up the piece of cardboard and marched back up the staircase, leaving a dumbstruck Clint behind.

"We'll see about that!" Clint said with a laugh as he ran after Natasha.

**Author's Note: And that's the end! I hope you enjoyed all of the one-shots, and I especially hope that all of you had a fantastic Christmas! I got a US Army and Marine Corps guide to counterinsurgency (woohoo!). It's my weirdest gift, but I love it. xD I also got Pokemon Black 2 and Harvest Moon: A New Beginning. What did you all get?**

**Have a great new year as well! **


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